Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The former head of state was sentenced of planning a military coup in September and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.
This involved attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a public vigil that could enable a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of his "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, prompting him to enact a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also asked that the former president be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plot which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the backing of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, Brasília.
The police intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by him whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.
